


Haircut

by Gust



Category: Epic Battle Fantasy
Genre: Gen, I guess if you squint you can see a ship, Natalie and Anna are mentioned, Nolegs is nowhere to be seen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 21:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14089815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gust/pseuds/Gust
Summary: A simple story around a gunner and a swordsman. Set after Epic Battle Fantasy 4.





	Haircut

Lance shifted through his inventory. He searched for his gunblade while ignoring the many unnecessary trinkets that prick his fingers. Despite refusing several times, a few of his items consisted of pastel petals that matched the colors of the rainbow. He had been meaning to throw them away, but he definitely wouldn't hear the end of it from his comrades. Even though they were a part of nature, the petals still had their uses. Perhaps he could brew up a concoction out of them and make something akin to dye. Or sell them. There was always that option. 

Of course, making the dye would require some trial and error unless he found a recipe of some sort. The soldier could be attempting the feat now. Instead, he was partaking in a wild goose chase.

Lance was tinkering around with a few malfunctioning robots in his factory when the gunner had gotten a distress signal from his radio from the factory. He was extremely tempted to push the big, red button that had the words " _Self-destruct_ " imprinted just for the thrill of it. Alas, Lance was already at the location and decided to check it out. Plus, everything would have cost an astronomical amount and if Lance ever decided to steal something as major as a factory again, he was 80% sure two certain female adventurers would have his head.

In fact, those two people were stacking robot parts together when Lance arrived at the main entrance. Regardless of their identity, the gunner was just about to blast them through the roof until Matt, the one who was actually causing havoc, tackled him from behind. In one moment, Matt was loudly exclaiming how he was so glad to see Lance alive before whisking the irate man to a treasure hunt with no map of any sort. Yup. They were going in blind this time around.

To be fair, Lance has had his fair share of exploration without a reliable guide and he was positive that the others had their own experiences. Out of their party, Matt was the most likely to whip out a legitimate treasure map and innocently announce he bought it from a mysterious shopkeeper. The swordsman was far more trusting of strangers - to the point where it baffled a few sketchy sellers, Lance noticed - and even went great lengths for those who needed favors.

As expected, the team didn't get too far in the first few days of random exploration. It was peculiar, really. Matt often stumbled right into treasure. Natz was the catalyst of most treasure finds, since she often told Matt to "not touch something" which greatly fueled his temptation. Lance often stole treasure as long as he can slip it under the radar. Anna, with her watchful eye, was a natural at finding treasure the normal way. There wasn't an abnormality at all in their journey, besides the fact the group always found a way to loop back into town if their search went nowhere.

With each passing day, tensions were slowly rising. The crew had their own lives to attend to; they no longer held the power to always pursue an adventure. While he had no clue what Natz and Anna were up to, Lance was keenly aware his upcoming ultimate project needed preparation. 

They set up camp near a forest and many heaps of mountains with no signs of civilization. While it didn't provide much cover, it allowed the team to clearly see their surroundings if any danger arose. Anna had remarked that the monsters could try jumping from the surrounding hills for an ambush but Matt shook his head, saying that foes were too stupid to do that. Lance and Natalie had agreed, with varying levels of snarky comments.

After scarfing down a scary amount of food, Matt had suggested a quick climb on the mountains in hopes of finding a few clues. No objections were raised, but it was clear the blond's true motives were to explore, even a tiny bit more. The group scaled the mountain with little trouble before Lance slipped away under the pretense of checking his phone.

And here he was: standing at the edge of the forest, distracted by his stupidly large inventory. What was he doing again?

Oh, that's right; he wanted a haircut. 

It was as idiotic as it sounded. Lance turned and cautiously tread deeper into the forest. He absolutely detested greenery, but it would provide the necessary cover and as a bonus, there were barely any monsters around to distract him. His auburn locks were in deep need of shortening as it reached up to his shoulders and it was starting to interfere with his accuracy. Another (although more embarrassing) reason was that it flustered the gunner whenever Anna and Natz would tease him for taking on some qualities of femininity. Matt pitched in that Lance was just trying to steal his style, to which Lance responded with his signature glare.

He knew that trying to earn the approval of his friends was overrated, but peer pressure makes you do questionable actions for the sake of others. Still, he decided to perform the action in private to avoid unnecessary comments and generally have an easier experience.

Lance traveled further into the forest before halting. The trees were comprised of awfully brittle branches that were pathetically thin. Bundles of yellowing leaves still blessed its dying arms, leaving a mere twinge of light to seep through the branches. The gunner knew he could use fire as a source of light once light completely dispersed, despite the flammable risks. He would be hitting two birds with one stone if the forest caught fire. Unfortunately, that would cast a handful of unwanted attention so when Lance bloomed a small campfire, he observed it attentively. He needed to keep the smoke at a minimum but dusk would reliably conceal whatever made it past the forest's leaves.

The light could attract unwanted attention and that left Lance feeling uneasy. Someone, or _something_ , could be watching him and he wouldn't even know it. Not that he had much privacy, to begin with.

The gunner sat down, placed his Officer Hat next to him, and unsheathe his gunblade. He neglected to bring a pair of scissors, which was completely fine in his eyes. Blades were similar enough.

Lance took out a cloth to wipe the gunblade. Surely, there were still slime particles he failed to clean beforehand. The more he stared at his weapon, the more he realized it was in deep need of upgrading. He's used the same black gunblade since his conquest days and Lance had seen no issue with that fact. It held up perfectly fine as of recent. Still, his weapon was more beat up than the soldier realized. The last thing he needed during a battle was it to break. 

Admittedly, the gunner was proud of its lasting durability. After all, he channeled magic, sliced things, and allowed it to be engulfed by nuclear substances. He stole its original model but added on the few necessary enhancements that surpassed his expectations. It was saddening to see it past its prime, but nothing lasted forever. Perhaps he should just craft a regular pistol... that glowed! Unfortunately, a pistol would be unable to slice and therefore, useless for his current endeavor. 

Lance raised his gunblade to his auburn hair. While he'd never admit it to himself, he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Back then, all he had to rely on were cuts from close calls in battles, hazardous experiments, or receiving assistance from machinery. In the present, he hardly engaged in a battle that would hack his head off. He had plenty of experiments stacking in the back of his mind, but the successes easily outweighed the failures.

The soldier huffed a sigh and was immediately disturbed by the sound of crunching footsteps behind him. In response, Lance bolted up and swung the gunblade at the culprit. A sword halted the gun's progression but still allowed the barrel to point towards the opponent. Before Lance pulled the trigger, he recognized his opponent. 

"Hey, I was just checking!!" Matt huffed indignantly. Heaven's Gate was unsheathed, blocking Lance's incoming attack. Of course. _Of course._ Lance broke their weapons' brief engagement and almost sent Matt stumbling forward by the sudden lack of weight.

"Right," Lance muttered, sheathing his gunblade out of habit. There was a major part of him that yelled to fume at the blond swordsman for following him. Though, the gunner wouldn't be lying if he said expected Matt to magically find him.

Matt had a unique knack for people skills. Sure, he probably couldn't handle a formal conversation but the swordsman had a tantalizing effect on the people around him. His ability to make friends and rivals was outrageously exceptional. It always felt as if Matt knew the exact combination of words and actions to win someone over. At least, that was Lance's view on the topic. 

"Soooo, do you need any help?" Matt asked innocuously. "You know, with the hair?"

"What makes me trust you with my hair?" 

"Well," Matt flipped his own blond hair dramatically, "how do you think I get these beautiful locks?"

Slightly amused, Lance snorted. "Do you even know what style I want?"

"Hmmm..." An uncomfortably long pause emerged. "Naw."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Simple. In the style it was before," he grumbled.

"Easy! I think that means a yes, right?"

"No."

"Pfft." Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out a round silver medal. He opened it, revealing a circular mirror. Lance looked it, with a brow raised. Matt closed the item and lightly tossed it to Lance who caught it with ease. "I stole it from Natz."

Lance fidgeted with the clasp, having trouble with opening the simple mechanism. "So I could watch you? I still can do it myself, especially with this. I haven't even confirmed if I want you to assist me."

"It's just us two bros. None of the girls will tease you for this. Promise!"

Lance took a moment to contemplate the deal. It was tempting. The gunner hardly knew how to keep his previous haircut in a manageable state. How could he possibly style his own hair? While he didn't seem like the type, Matt did have a solid grasp behind the topic. His golden hair was perpetually straight and didn't require to be tied up - save for the thin braids dangling at the sides of his face - unlike Natalie or Anna. Aside from Natalie's insistence on letting her groom his hair, Matt isn't explicitly seen caring for his locks, leading to Lance's uncertainty. Though, he hardly had any other options so...

"... Oh alright." Satisfied with the reasoning, the gunner sat down, his back intentionally facing Matt. The sound of crunching leaves weaved with the low crackling of the fire as the blond pirate settled down behind the gunner.

A brief comfortable silence shared between the two. In the mirror Matt gave, Lance could spot the pirate picking up Heaven's Gate and-

"Hey, what the...?!" The silence shattered as Lance shuffled away from his friend in an instant. Cutting hair with scissors; that was relatively normal. Cutting hair with magic; slightly dangerous but worth it. Cutting hair with a gunblade; somewhat of an impractical (and admittedly, stupid) choice. But, cutting hair with a sword... well, Lance didn't need his head to be cleaved off in an "accident."

Not off-put the gunner's usual hostile tone, Matt flashed an unwavering smile. "Makes the job easier," the pirate attempted to reason. Unconvinced, Lance crossed his arms and scoffed. "You'll be fiiiine. You already know I'm a master swordsman."

_Who has made more bad decisions than_ _good,_ Lance thought. The words were left unsaid as Matt clutched Heaven's Gate, retrieved the abandoned compact, and shifted behind Lance again, the latter not bothering to move. Matt passed the compact to the disgruntled gunner who opened it with more ease this time around.

In the mirror's reflection, Lance watched as Matt place Heaven's Gate into his inventory and take out a reasonably sized dagger that resided in the scabbard hanging from the pirate's belt. Compared to his other weapons, the dagger was quite on the simple side. The hilt was bright golden, contrasting with the bland gray blade. The swordsman spun the dagger carelessly before gripping its crimson handle. Matt shared Lance another playful grin before he got to work.

It was mildly embarrassing to be receiving a haircut. Matt was the radiating image of mischief and anything could turn for the worst in a matter of seconds. For the record, most of the instances were accidental or with kind intent but that didn't erase the possible severity of the situation. 

The mirror certainly eased a few of Lance's worries to rest. It would minimize the possibility of disaster and the soldier could keep a close eye on his comrade. In the reflection, Matt trimmed Lance's hair with uncharacteristic concentration. It was a little eerie, but the gunner was taking his chances. 

A few minutes pass without disruption. The forest had fallen inactive and retreated into a distinctive slumber. The low glow of the fireplace flickered as the edge of dusk emerged. Lance tensed. He instinctively reached for his gunblade, uncomfortable in such a vulnerable position. 

"Hey, stop moving," Matt instructed.

"And die? No thanks, bro."

"I'm almost done!"

Lance paused the pestering and impatiently fidgeted with his fingers, trying to identify the source of his worry. His comrades were powerful and difficult to kill. In the event of a death, Natalie could revive the victim swiftly at the cost of a decent sum of magic. Yet, the gunner couldn't help but feel apprehensive. He recalled the events that lead to this situation and replayed them in his mind. Everything seemed fine. Unless... 

"Quest completed!" Matt proclaimed, a smile returning to his expression. The swordsman swept stray bundles of hair that remained on Lance's shoulders. A glint of accomplishment glowed within his sapphire eyes. "Looks good in my opinion."

Reluctantly, Lance inspected his appearance in the mirror and looked... perfectly fine. The resemblance was uncanny, strand by strand. The soldier had to admit: he was impressed. Lance flashed Matt a grateful grin, who returned it with a thumbs-up. He donned his Officer's Hat and found that the fit was more snug than usual. One brief look at the mirror revealed his hair refused to stick up over the brim. A little strange, considering it wasn't ever an issue before. The gunner glanced at Matt suspiciously, who merely shrugged at the oddity.

"I still think it looks fine," Matt remarked.

Surmising that the swordsman was probably innocent in the situation, Lance snorted, halfheartedly amused. "Right... Thanks, anyway."

"No problem, dude." Matt rose from the ground and stretched his sore limbs. "Let's go meet back with Natalie and Anna. They're probably out there doing girl things."

"Probably," Lance agreed. They retrieved their scattered items, placing it back into their jumbled inventories. Matt extinguished the dying fireplace with a small geyser. The embers danced and soon faded into oblivion.

**Author's Note:**

> A little nervous but hey, what's up! I'm Gust. Probably seen me on the discord with the same name. Nice to meet you, stranger.
> 
> (Possible Spoilers if you're not following devblog updates. Nothing on bosses or plot though.): I started writing this last year, in an attempt to make a theory behind why Lance's hairstyle is sort of different in the new game. Also, I suppose my younger self wanted an excuse to have bros act like bros. When EBF5 was announced to be a separate universe, that put my theory to rest but I didn't want to abandon this draft, unlike the others.
> 
> So what does that mean for my possible upcoming stories? Well, the crew I'll be focusing on is the EBF4 crew until EBF5 comes out. Right now, they're sort of a mesh of both. So until EBF5's plot is revealed, I can't really do much personality-wise for the new crew. There are a few loose ends to this since I think I planned on expanding upon it. I have other thoughts unfortunately, so there definitely won't be an expansion for this.
> 
> To be honest, I wanted to stay close to canon as much as possible when it came to traits and personalities. Not sure if I was close enough or too far away, but I hope was I was near.
> 
> This also took way longer than it should have. It takes probably 30 minutes to even think of another paragraph and then I push it off kekek. Sorry to those on the discord who knew about this small story and waited too long for this. haha. Regardless, thanks to those who have supported me.
> 
> You probably noticed but Lance is paranoid. Let's just say there IS someone watching them. Nothing that wants to kill him, at least.


End file.
